Marijuana use among American teens is at a 30-year high.
One of every 15 high school seniors reported smoking pot on a daily or nearly daily basis, according to a report released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The rate is the highest since 1981 and the fourth straight year showing an increase.
The numbers of teens drinking and smoking cigarettes, however, is on the decline.
The study surveyed 47,000 8th, 10th, and 12th-graders.
"One thing we've learned over the years is that when young people come to see a drug as dangerous, they're less likely to use it," Lloyd Johnston, the study's principal investigator, told the Associated Press. "That helps to explain why marijuana right now is rising, because the proportion of kids who see it as dangerous has been declining."
One out of nine high school seniors reported using synthetic marijuana, known as Spice or K2, in the past 12 months. This was the first year the survey asked about synthetic marijuana use.
Synthetic marijuana was sold legally until March when the Drug Enforcement Administration banned some chemicals in sythetic marijuana.
"High school students probably think it's not dangerous," R. Gil Kerlikowske, the federal drug czar, told The New York Times. "But we know from the calls to hot lines, emergency departments and poison control centers that this stuff really is dangerous. It just really wasn't on the parents' radar screens."
But while marijuana use continues to climb, teens continue to lose interest in alcohol and other drugs.
The use of alcohol was at historic lows for the survey. Forty percent of the 12th-grade students reported drinking in the past 30 days this year compared to 54 percent in 1991.
The study also reported that cigarette use fell this year from 21.6% in 2006 to 18.7%. "That cigarette use has declined to historically low rates is welcome news, given our concerns that declines may have slowed or stalled in recent years," Dr. Nora D. Volkow, NIDA director, said in a press release. “That said, the teen smoking rate is declining much more slowly than in years past, and we are seeing teens consume other tobacco products at high levels."
A decrease of teens who used cocaine, tranquilizers, over-the-counter cold medicine, prescription drugs like Adderall, and narcotic pain killers like Vicodin, the study noted.
One of every 15 high school seniors reported smoking pot on a daily or nearly daily basis, according to a report released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The rate is the highest since 1981 and the fourth straight year showing an increase.
The numbers of teens drinking and smoking cigarettes, however, is on the decline.
The study surveyed 47,000 8th, 10th, and 12th-graders.
"One thing we've learned over the years is that when young people come to see a drug as dangerous, they're less likely to use it," Lloyd Johnston, the study's principal investigator, told the Associated Press. "That helps to explain why marijuana right now is rising, because the proportion of kids who see it as dangerous has been declining."
One out of nine high school seniors reported using synthetic marijuana, known as Spice or K2, in the past 12 months. This was the first year the survey asked about synthetic marijuana use.
Synthetic marijuana was sold legally until March when the Drug Enforcement Administration banned some chemicals in sythetic marijuana.
"High school students probably think it's not dangerous," R. Gil Kerlikowske, the federal drug czar, told The New York Times. "But we know from the calls to hot lines, emergency departments and poison control centers that this stuff really is dangerous. It just really wasn't on the parents' radar screens."
But while marijuana use continues to climb, teens continue to lose interest in alcohol and other drugs.
The use of alcohol was at historic lows for the survey. Forty percent of the 12th-grade students reported drinking in the past 30 days this year compared to 54 percent in 1991.
The study also reported that cigarette use fell this year from 21.6% in 2006 to 18.7%. "That cigarette use has declined to historically low rates is welcome news, given our concerns that declines may have slowed or stalled in recent years," Dr. Nora D. Volkow, NIDA director, said in a press release. “That said, the teen smoking rate is declining much more slowly than in years past, and we are seeing teens consume other tobacco products at high levels."
A decrease of teens who used cocaine, tranquilizers, over-the-counter cold medicine, prescription drugs like Adderall, and narcotic pain killers like Vicodin, the study noted.
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